Carpets with lighting functions are known in the art. EP0323682 for instance describes an apparatus for guiding the occupants of a building along a path of travel within the building, which comprises modular carpet tiles which are abuttingly arranged to cover the floor of the structure, with some of the tiles being signal units having a light-transmissive, molded plastics housing positioned in an opening therein, and having light-emitting diodes positioned in the housing. The light-emitting diodes are energized via an electrical cable, and thereby provide a visually discernable pathway on the floor.
This document especially describes an apparatus for guiding the occupants of a structure in a path of travel along the floor within the structure, comprising a plurality of abuttingly arranged modular floor covering units covering the floor, said modular units having a fibrous face, some of said modular floor covering units being illuminable and arranged in a predetermined pattern resting upon and extending along the floor, each of said illuminable floor covering units having at least one relatively small opening therein spaced inwardly from the sides of said unit and open to the upper surface of the unit, a relatively small light transmissive housing positioned in each of said openings so as to be inset therein and completely surrounded by said fibrous face, light-emitting means positioned within each of said housings, and power means electrically connected to said light-emitting means of said illuminable modular floor covering units so that when said light-emitting means are energized by said power means a visually discernable pathway is defined in the floor by the cooperation of said illuminable modular floor covering units which can then be followed by the occupants of the structure to a predetermined location in the structure.